Twentieth Century (1934) in Color — Starring John Barrymore & Carole Lombard

Twentieth Century (1934) – Buy This Screwball Comedy Classic in Color

Experience the explosive screwball comedy Twentieth Century (1934) in vivid colorized HD. Directed by Howard Hawks, this brilliantly manic film stars John Barrymore and Carole Lombard in a battle of wits and egos aboard a speeding luxury train, as an egomaniacal Broadway impresario desperately tries to lure his former protégée — now a huge Hollywood star — back to the stage. With its razor-sharp dialogue, breakneck pacing, and two of the most outrageously entertaining performances in comedy history, this is the film that essentially invented screwball comedy. Now available as a premium digital download for just €15.00 — DRM-free and yours to keep forever.

Plot Summary

Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) is the most brilliant and most impossible man in the American theatre — a tyrannical Broadway producer-director of genuine genius whose ego is so colossal that it has its own gravitational field. Jaffe discovered Mildred Plotka, a talentless lingerie model, and through sheer force of will, bullying, and occasional inspiration, transformed her into Lily Garland, the greatest actress on the American stage. Their professional and romantic partnership made them both legends — until Lily escaped his suffocating control and fled to Hollywood, where she became an even bigger star without him.

Now Jaffe’s career is in ruins. His last three productions have been catastrophic failures, his creditors are closing in, and he faces professional and financial oblivion. Boarding the luxury Twentieth Century Limited train from Chicago to New York, Jaffe discovers that Lily Garland is aboard the same train with her new boyfriend, a handsome but dim leading man. Jaffe recognises his last chance at salvation: if he can convince Lily to sign a contract to star in his next production, he can save his career.

What follows is a masterpiece of comic warfare as Jaffe deploys every weapon in his formidable theatrical arsenal — flattery, manipulation, emotional blackmail, fake suicide attempts, manufactured religious conversion, and sheer unbridled histrionics — to persuade Lily to return to the stage. Lily, who knows all his tricks because he taught them to her, matches him deception for deception, tantrum for tantrum, and dramatic exit for dramatic exit, creating an escalating battle between two magnificent performers who are simultaneously destroying each other and proving that they were born to be together.

The confined space of the train transforms every compartment, observation car, and corridor into a stage for their operatic confrontation, while the supporting characters — including Jaffe’s long-suffering managers Oliver Webb and Owen O’Malley — desperately try to navigate between the two warring egos. The comedy builds to a fever pitch of inspired lunacy that leaves no scenery unchewed and no emotion unexploited.

Cast & Crew

Director: Howard Hawks
Stars: John Barrymore, Carole Lombard, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Ralph Forbes, Charles Levison

John Barrymore delivers one of the greatest comic performances ever captured on film, unleashing his legendary theatrical powers in a tour de force of comic excess that is simultaneously hilarious and oddly moving. Carole Lombard, in the role that transformed her career, matches Barrymore scene for explosive scene, revealing the brilliant comic talent that would make her screwball comedy’s greatest star.

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

The luxurious Art Deco interiors of the Twentieth Century Limited train, the glamorous costumes, the theatrical settings, and the expressive performances are all magnificently enhanced through expert colorization. The visual elegance of the 1930s railway age — polished wood, gleaming brass, sumptuous upholstery — gains extraordinary richness in colour. Now also available in colour. Own the film that invented screwball comedy for just €15.00 — an essential cornerstone of any comedy collection.

Historical Significance

Twentieth Century is widely recognised as the first true screwball comedy, establishing the template of rapid-fire dialogue, battling couples, and manic physical comedy that would define Hollywood’s greatest comic genre throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Howard Hawks’s revolutionary insistence that his actors overlap their dialogue and maintain breakneck pacing created a new rhythm for screen comedy that influenced every comedy director who followed. The film also launched Carole Lombard’s transformation from decorative leading lady to screwball comedy genius. Through colorization, this foundational comedy masterpiece has been preserved for modern audiences in vivid new visual detail.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4 digital download
• Resolution: HD 720p
• Colorized: Yes – professionally colorized from the original black-and-white
• Audio: Original mono soundtrack
• Runtime: Approximately 91 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes – no restrictions on playback
• Instant download: Available immediately after purchase
• Price: €15.00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: Is this really the first screwball comedy?
A: Film historians widely credit Twentieth Century as the film that established the screwball comedy genre. While It Happened One Night (also 1934) is sometimes cited, Hawks’s film introduced the specific elements — overlapping dialogue, battling equals, manic pacing, and sophisticated verbal comedy — that defined the genre throughout its golden age.

Q: How over-the-top is John Barrymore?
A: Spectacularly, gloriously, and intentionally over-the-top. Barrymore — considered the greatest stage actor of his generation — deliberately unleashes his full theatrical arsenal, and the result is one of the most entertainingly excessive performances in cinema history. It is hamming of the highest possible order.

Q: What is the Twentieth Century Limited?
A: It was a famous luxury express train that ran between New York and Chicago from 1902 to 1967, known for its speed, elegance, and celebrity passengers. The confined luxury setting provides the perfect pressure cooker for the film’s comic conflicts.

Digital Download Questions

Q: What format is the download?
A: The film is delivered as a high-quality MP4 file in 720p HD resolution, compatible with all major devices and media players.

Q: Is there DRM on this download?
A: No. The download is completely DRM-free, meaning you can watch it on any device without restrictions or expiration dates.

Q: How quickly can I watch after purchasing?
A: Your download link is available immediately after payment. You can start watching within minutes of completing your purchase.

Related Colorized Classics

• It Happened One Night (1934)
• Bringing Up Baby (1938)
• His Girl Friday (1940)
• My Man Godfrey (1936)
• The Legend of Rudolph Valentino (1961)